Detectives in Northeast Philadelphia are investigating a home invasion-style robbery and an attempted home invasion that occurred 24 hours apart last week.
Four gunmen burst into a rowhouse on the 1400 block of Gilham St. in Castor Gardens at 11:30 p.m. on Aug. 1 and held up two men ages 44 and 56, said Capt. Jack McGinnis of Northeast Detectives.
The robbers allegedly attacked the older victim when he refused to comply with their demands. Then they grabbed a television from the house and fled, McGinnis said.
The 56-year-old suffered undisclosed injuries and was treated at an area hospital.
The first assailant was described as black and wearing a black hoodie. The second assailant was described as black, 20 years old, 5 feet 10 inches tall and 165 pounds. He wore a black hoodie and black pants and carried a black gun.
A third man was described as 20 to 25 years old, 6 feet tall and 200 pounds. He carried a black pistol. No description was available of the fourth man.
On Aug. 2 at 11:40 p.m., three men attempted to force a Castor Gardens couple into their home at gunpoint, but the husband managed to scare the attackers away.
The victims, a 37-year-old man and his 34-year-old wife, had just closed their store on the 700 block of Adams Ave. for the night and parked their car outside their house on the 7200 block of Horrocks St., McGinnis said.
The wife went into the house while the husband remained outside to unload the car. The gunman approached him and demanded that he lead them into the house.
Instead, the husband pushed a panic button linked to his car alarm. The noise prompted the men to flee empty-handed, McGinnis said.
All three gunmen were black. One was described as 6 feet tall. He wore a gray shirt and dark cargo pants and carried a black pistol. A second man wore a gray hoodie. No description was available of the third man.
Investigators think that the assailants might have spotted the couple at their store and followed them about three miles to their house.
Past owners of the same store were similarly targeted in a couple of home invasion robbery cases, McGinnis said. It is not known if the earlier crimes are connected to the latest one.
Call Northeast Detectives at 215â686â3153 to report information about either case. â˘â˘
